Question

• Are sodium and potassium malleable and ductile?
• Do sodium and potassium conduct electricity?
• Are sodium and potassium lustrous?
• Sodium and potassium bothhave most qualities as non metals, but are placedin metals. Whyisit so?

Answer 1

Properties of Sodium and Potassium
i) They are malleable.
ii) They are ductile.
iii) They are good transmitters of heat and electricity.
iv) They are lustrous.

They both are solid , have low electronegativity and the first ionization energy for both of them is low. This means that thay can lose an electron very easily and exist as stable sodium and potassium ion. They are good conductors of heat and electricity. All these factors matches with the properties of metals that is why they are classified as metals.